Qwant and Be-Bound Announce Partnership

Jul 09, 2018

Qwant invests in Be-Bound technology and announces partnership to deliver data protection, IoT, and mapping services to areas struggling with low or no Internet coverage

Qwant, the search engine that prioritizes user privacy, and Be-Bound, the French startup that increases the reach of mobile services with their patented Augmented Connectivity, have announced a strategic partnership. Qwant will integrate Be-Bound’s technology to optimize and augment the coverage of the mobile services and IoT that guarantee secure connectivity. Be-Bound’s solution utilizes any available mobile network, thereby reaching 95% of the world population.

These are two French companies co-innovating to create new products revolving around data usage, with 3 main focuses: Data Protection, Maps, and IoT.

“Be-Bound is unique in the mobile market, and the power of their Augmented Connectivity to immediately extend our geographic reach is remarkable, especially to extend our services abroad even when data roaming is off. We’re so convinced that in addition to our technological partnership, we’ve decided to invest in Be-Bound.” – Eric Léandri, CEO of Qwant.

Data Protection

Maximum privacy protection for users in accordance with GDPR

“Qwant is the only European search engine with its own web indexing technology, that proposes corporate solutions for all social actors to preserve the control and confidentiality of their data. This is the ideal solution for populations of emerging countries, notably in Africa and Asia where inclusive use of their big data should represent considerable added value!” – Yazid Chir, CEO of Be-Bound

Optimised maps

Be-Bound’s image compression technology optimizes the size of data necessary to display navigational maps. Combining this technology with Qwant’s mapping system will enable the creation of navigational services that consume very little data, which will be very useful in rural zones, developing countries, or countries devastated by a disaster.

IoT

Be-Bound enables the stable transmission of data captured by IoT from any location, no matter what the network, (WiFi-3G-GSM). By including this Augmented Connectivity in Qwant’s IoT data aggregation platform, this partnership will make it possible to create services that anonymously collect and analyze data retrieved by captors located in zones outside of a 3G range. This can be a powerful advantage for agriculture for example, with sensor networks located in isolated areas.

Ivory Coast: The First Step

Qwant and Be-Bound are working together as strategic partners on Dor2Dor, a project supported by the Ivorian government that is redesigning logistical services for La Poste de Côte d’Ivoire (The Ivory Coast postal service). The project is considered an example of franco-ivorian cooperation and aims to revolutionize deliveries in developing countries.

About Qwant

Designed and developed in France, Qwant is the first European search engine to have its own web indexing technology, which protects the privacy of its users by refusing any tracking device for advertising goals. Unlike the main search engines on the market, Qwant does not install cookies on the user’s browser, does not ask who it is or what it does, and does not keep a history of requests made. With a warm interface that leaves plenty of room for results, Qwant allows you to find the information you are looking for efficiently across the web and social media, while respecting total neutrality. Qwant treats all the indexed sites and services without discrimination, without modifying the order of the results according to its own interests or the sensitivities of the user.

Launched in 2011, Be-Bound has developed a unique and patented technology that optimizes existing networks to bring augmented connectivity to mobile and IoT worldwide, without any additional infrastructure investment. In Africa for example, where the mobile Internet coverage only reaches 25%, Be-Bound’s technology can increase coverage to reach 95% of the population immediately. By opening this technology to businesses of all sizes, Be-Bound enables secure end-to-end encryption and real-time transactions everywhere, and ensures constant connectivity wherever there is a mobile network. Addressable markets are therefore equally increased. In emerging markets, where problematic connectivity inhibits development, Be-Bound contributes to the creation of inclusive growth and sustainable development.